1. Technical Field
This invention deals generally with method and apparatus for improving the readability of email message strings.
2. Related Art
Many times the originator of a message will initiate an email “conversation” which causes many subsequent replies and re-replies and/or, forwarding (perhaps to and from multiple recipients/senders). The result can be a long string of individual email messages. Unfortunately, the message headers associated with each individual reply or forwarding or the like are also included in a typical display of a raw string of related email messages.
This can make later (or even current) comprehension of the entire email exchange difficult. This is especially so when the email message string is displayed on a relatively small screen (e.g., on a handheld wireless communication device or the like which may only be able to display a relatively limited number of text lines simultaneously on the screen). Of course, as most will appreciate, this same sort of problem can occur even on larger screens such as those available on typical personal computers and the like.
While such email message strings may of course be edited by highlighting and deleting portions and thus eliminating redundant material or the like, such traditional editing efforts are time consuming and may become complex (depending upon the size of the string and/or the nature of the editing software). In addition, such traditional editing of the string may accidentally result in loss of the desired message body portion of some message (i.e., of material that is actually not redundant).